I would get a premium membership if __________ (not land or L$)

[Scylla Rhiadra]

48 minutes ago, Pussycat Catnap said:

I'd pay for a mainland sim with an 'A' policy on sexual content but a 'G' policy on violent content. I suspect someone else would pay for a matching reverse setting - maybe even me as well for a RP venue... I've always felt we needed two completely different kinds of 'A' rated sims, not grouping these two radically different things together...

Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes, this.

Such a stupid thing, lumping these two entirely different kinds of content together.

My assumption has always been that they didn't do this because it would complicate the coding necessary to filter out one, the other, or both. But maybe it's just a form of 21st-century Puritanism that equates lovemaking with dismemberment by chainsaw.

[Mollymews]

7 minutes ago, Scylla Rhiadra said:

Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes, this.

Such a stupid thing, lumping these two entirely different kinds of content together.

My assumption has always been that they didn't do this because it would complicate the coding necessary to filter out one, the other, or both. But maybe it's just a form of 21st-century Puritanism that equates lovemaking with dismemberment by chainsaw.

there is already a separation between lovemaking and dismemberment violence in the parcel ratings. Moderate and Adult.  Where I think LL got it wrong was in naming the 3rd level Adult when X for eXtreme might have been better. Wrong in the sense of causing unnecessary confusion due to how people interpret labels

[Selene Gregoire]

Just add another rating. V for Violence.

And be glad I don't feel like launching into my V speech.

[Scylla Rhiadra]

10 minutes ago, Mollymews said:

there is already a separation between lovemaking and dismemberment violence in the parcel ratings. Moderate and Adult.  Where I think LL got it wrong was in naming the 3rd level Adult when X for eXtreme might have been better. Wrong in the sense of causing unnecessary confusion due to how people interpret labels

Yes and no. It's true that the current standard for M rated parcels permits you to have sexual content within non-public areas, out of sight to anyone who isn't trying to see it, while there is, so far as I know, no similar allowance for extreme violent content in moderate.

But sexuality -- for which I used "lovemaking," perhaps a little carelessly, as a synecdoche -- isn't just about conventional sex in the bedroom of one's house. It also encompasses strip bars and swingers' clubs, not to mention those forms of sex RP that do overlap with violence. If I want to have sex on a beach, or at sex club, or in a back alley, I have to go to an "A" rated sim. As it currently stands, doing so means that I may also be exposed to extreme violent content, in the same or perhaps an adjoining sim. I should be able to seek out a way of expressing my sexuality in a public manner without being exposed to, for instance, rape, dolcet, or snuff RP, if i so choose.

I do agree, though, that "adult" is an unfortunate misnomer for depictions of behavior that should more properly be called "extreme."

[Mollymews]

43 minutes ago, Selene Gregoire said:

Just add another rating. V for Violence.

even simpler. I like it

[Oz Linden]

On 3/30/2019 at 2:01 PM, Qie Niangao said:

taking the risk of having my account deleted if I got hit by a bus

This is not a thing. We don't delete accounts when you miss a payment - we don't even limit access until after a considerable grace period.

[Qie Niangao]

14 hours ago, Oz Linden said:

This is not a thing. We don't delete accounts when you miss a payment - we don't even limit access until after a considerable grace period.

Somehow your post manages to quote me saying what @Pamela Galli, the person I quoted was saying. That's not easy to do, again proving that Lindens move in mysterious ways.

As long as I'm replying anyway... there kinda is an issue here, even for those of us who don't make a habit of playing in traffic with buses: During that "considerable grace period" the account can rack-up some heavy unpaid bills because the meter just keeps running whether the Premium resident is able to login or not. Then, after recovering from her bus injuries, our heroine returns to a huge bill that needs paying before she can get back into Second Life.

I don't have a clue how this could be handled better, but this is (as I understand it) what spreads the concern that Premium membership can put a delinquent account at risk, in contrast to non-Premium accounts that simply cannot accrue suspension-triggering charges (no matter how much back rent they may owe a third party, for example).

[Coffee Pancake]

There is no easy way to deal with delinquent accounts when they have land ownership, either direct or indirectly as part of a group etc. A grace period is the simplest 'wide brush' kind of solution, but the services are still accessible so billing has to just accrue and payment in full at some point is required.

Sounds like something an integrated insurance policy would be good for, for every X period of ownership, you get Y period worth of non extractable valueless 'Land Credits' in the bank  .. you can either spend them for Q days without a bill every year, or save up for a rainy day. Current grace periods work the same as they do and when you come back you can settle your bill using any combination of real cash and 'Land Credits', make the 'Land Credits' transferable between accounts and we can all pitch in post Bus accident, or people can sell their Land Credits on the open market for whatever they like.

... and now I've dragged my own thread off topic.

 

[Selene Gregoire]

7 hours ago, Qie Niangao said:

omehow your post manages to quote me saying what @Pamela Galli, the person I quoted was saying.

This has happened to me and to Love. If you do the highlight to quote thing, that's when it happens because the software is coded to show it as original poster of that particular post, not the quoted person. They need to fix that, if they can.

[Selene Gregoire]

1 hour ago, CoffeeDujour said:

There is no easy way to deal with delinquent accounts when they have land ownership, either direct or indirectly as part of a group etc. A grace period is the simplest 'wide brush' kind of solution, but the services are still accessible so billing has to just accrue and payment in full at some point is required.

Sounds like something an integrated insurance policy would be good for, for every X period of ownership, you get Y period worth of non extractable valueless 'Land Credits' in the bank  .. you can either spend them for Q days without a bill every year, or save up for a rainy day. Current grace periods work the same as they do and when you come back you can settle your bill using any combination of real cash and 'Land Credits', make the 'Land Credits' transferable between accounts and we can all pitch in post Bus accident, or people can sell their Land Credits on the open market for whatever they like.

... and now I've dragged my own thread off topic.

 

Wait, what!? You want to introduce insurance into SL? Are you mad? As if we don't already have enough scams to worry about!

 

Seriously, people need to stop trying to turn SL into real life*. It resembles it far too closely now as it is.

 

*Yes, I am aware people don't always stop to think about the long (or short) consequences of their suggestions.

Edited May 4, 2019 by Selene Gregoire

[Coffee Pancake]

1 hour ago, Selene Gregoire said:

Wait, what!? You want to introduce insurance into SL? Are you mad? As if we don't already have enough scams to worry about!

It would have to be something done by LL as part of your membership .. The more cash you pay them the more 'land loyalty points' you get which in turn can be used to pay for land, or just given away or traded.

Wasn't suggesting anything resident based, that would be ginko all over again.

[Selene Gregoire]

1 hour ago, CoffeeDujour said:

It would have to be something done by LL as part of your membership .. The more cash you pay them the more 'land loyalty points' you get which in turn can be used to pay for land, or just given away or traded.

Wasn't suggesting anything resident based, that would be ginko all over again.

And all the thousands of dollars I've already spent on land over the years? I've flushed more than enough cash down the SL toilet, thank you.

It's really sad when people don't recognize the elitism in their own words. Go ahead, turn SL into something only the very well off/rich can afford. See how small the population of SL will get before LL finally writes it off as a financial disaster and shuts SL down. 

Which would you prefer? Sansar or SL? That is what it will boil down to. Which one will LL choose?

[KanryDrago]

20 minutes ago, Selene Gregoire said:

And all the thousands of dollars I've already spent on land over the years? I've flushed more than enough cash down the SL toilet, thank you.

It's really sad when people don't recognize the elitism in their own words. Go ahead, turn SL into something only the very well off/rich can afford. See how small the population of SL will get before LL finally writes it off as a financial disaster and shuts SL down. 

Which would you prefer? Sansar or SL? That is what it will boil down to. Which one will LL choose?

sl sansar is a wasteland of bad ideas, bad implementation and bad targeting of audience

[Selene Gregoire]

1 hour ago, KanryDrago said:

sl sansar is a wasteland of bad ideas, bad implementation and bad targeting of audience

Preaching to the choir. 

I'm pretty sure LL would choose Sansar over SL, which would be the death knell of LL.

[LittleMe Jewell]

1 hour ago, Selene Gregoire said:

And all the thousands of dollars I've already spent on land over the years? I've flushed more than enough cash down the SL toilet, thank you.

It's really sad when people don't recognize the elitism in their own words. Go ahead, turn SL into something only the very well off/rich can afford. See how small the population of SL will get before LL finally writes it off as a financial disaster and shuts SL down. 

 

Since only Premium can own mainland - and thus get into arrears on payments - (and Private Estate owners) and since they've already discussed various levels of Premium for different amounts of money, how is possibly offering that for a fee any different than any other Premium offerings.  If you aren't Premium w/ mainland or  Private Estate owner (which I'd think such an offering would also apply), then you wouldn't gain any benefit from such an assurance benefit - and the folks wanting such assurance would have to pay for it.

Edited May 4, 2019 by LittleMe Jewell

[Selene Gregoire]

3 hours ago, LittleMe Jewell said:

Since only Premium can own mainland - and thus get into arrears on payments - (and Private Estate owners) and since they've already discussed various levels of Premium for different amounts of money, how is possibly offering that for a fee any different than any other Premium offerings.  If you aren't Premium w/ mainland or  Private Estate owner (which I'd think such an offering would also apply), then you wouldn't gain any benefit from such an assurance benefit - and the folks wanting such assurance would have to pay for it.

Hello. Ex premium member here. 

[Coffee Pancake]

If you're an ex premium member then you wouldn't need or want any of this anyway, either as a bonus perk or at an additional cost .. so ... ?

[Selene Gregoire]

1 hour ago, CoffeeDujour said:

If you're an ex premium member then you wouldn't need or want any of this anyway, either as a bonus perk or at an additional cost .. so ... ?

It doesn't mean I will always be basic. Who knows what next year's tax returns will be like.

Discounting basic accounts reeks of elitism. The implications of that don't look very good.

Edited May 5, 2019 by Selene Gregoire

[Coffee Pancake]

This entire thread is about dreaming up perks for premium account holders. It's not elitism, it's finding a way to broaden the offering so its about more than just land, and hopefully appeal to more people, because it's not like the promise of exclusive sandboxes or random gifts has anyone really excited.

Nothing added to the premium package should make it mandatory or detract from the access to the service non premium accounts have. I don't even like the name or that profiles have any kind of account status in them at all.

[Selene Gregoire]

Try leveling the playing field rather than shut yourselves off from the rest of SL, who just happen to be basic accounts. It's pretty obvious that most premium members tend to look down on basic. The elitism is there, whether you want to admit it or not. There are two classes in SL, premium and basic with premium being the upper class. 

I'm not saying premiums shouldn't get a few extra perks, but you guys are taking it way too far. Soon you'll be wanting to restrict the forum to premium only. What's next? The MP? Basics are already prohibited from owning land on mainland, will you take away the ability to rent land as well? Reinstate the prim tax for basics only?

Where does it end? When basics no longer exist? LL tried all paid accounts before. Then they realized just how much profit they were losing out on and they gave us basic accounts so everyone could join. Everyone! Not just an elite group simply because they happen to have more money to throw at SL.

[Gabriele Graves]

@Selene Gregoire I know that you aren't blanketing all of us who have premium with your statements about elitism and I agree with you that there is a strong air of it around SL, including the forums.  I just wanted to let you know that we don't all feel the way you describe about basic accounts.  I was basic for at least 5 years of my 12 in SL.  Hell, it was about 2 years before I spent a single penny of RL currency on it.  I was constantly amazed on how much you could do in SL for no or very little L$.  I have been premium for a long time now but have several times downgraded for short periods of time as well.  I do like premium but recognise that not everyone can afford it or even want what it brings.  I do believe that SL should be for all that can get connected, however that happens and love that aspect of the service.  Without basic there would be far less people from lots of different areas of the world able to enjoy SL.  We are all poorer if that happens.  I don't think people should be treated as second class second life citizens just because they are basic accounts but sadly there will always be those who feel differently.

If I were able to change premium in one single way it would be that assuming you could afford the L$ amount for the land, every single person could own at least 512sqm of land as basic and that as premium that amount would increase.  I think this would help level the playing field just a little.  I would even be willing to pay a little more premium to compensate for it.  Diversity is richness to me.